Magazines

Newspapers

White Papers

Social Media

Branded Entertainment

PR

Monetization

Books

Events

Marketing 2.0

Benchmark: Coca-Cola Content 2020

Funny thing, stories. They can move us so much more effectively than facts and information. They quickly take people from inspiration to action to impact.

Just ask the world's best known brand, Coca-Cola. Last year they declared the corporate website dead and “press release PR” on its way out. Its communication efforts on the web have since been totally overhauled and is now mainly focused on content marketing.

The result? Visits to corporate content is surging, bounce rates have fallen by half and time spent on those pages is way up.

Moreover, The Coca-Cola Company was recognized by the Cannes Festival of Creativity as their Creative Marketer of the Year. Belive it or not, it was the first time in Coca-Cola’s history that the company received this award:"We’re building an audience of newshounds, technology early adopters, cooking enthusiasts, entertainment lovers, sports fans, photographers, and adventurers. Therefore, it only makes sense to design the experience that our readers tell us that they want to consume," says Ashley Brown, who leads digital communications and social media for the Coca-Cola Company.

Whether you want to make this shift yourselves or not, there’s a significance here worth noting for all marketers: The cheese has moved. Major corporations need to listen and interact with their target audience more as the web and social media have put them in the driver's seat. Marketing and communications is evolving into something new, something better we think. Something which will hopefully add a lot more value and significance than before.

Approach

We run a simple, but effective process.

It begins by taking inventory. We strip down your product/service to examine what we have left. That is your brand today. Your products or services are not your brand.

What does the company stand for? What is its personality? Why should someone buy into it? This analysis allows us to determine whether your brand is working for you or if you need to re-brand.

From there we will go on to figure out what particular marketing strategies will perform the best for your brand in the digital realm and create custom content encompassing owned, earned and paid media.

Finally, we use our unique network in the US and Europe to make the intros to key players that will take propel your business forward.

About

VDM is founded and managed by Joakim Baage, tapping his global network of independent creatives and technologists built over 20 years in the business for the best possible combination of talent to handle any size project.

Thriving on driving new business at the intersection of content, technology, ideas and people, Joakim, or Jay as he is known by his American friends and colleagues, has been awarded Streamy and Webby Awards as well as fellowships from the Wallenberg Foundation, Investor AB and the Sweden-America Foundation.

Previously, Jay has been Content Strategist and G.M. of Spoon USA, Vice President of Content and Business Development for Digital Media Wire as well as held several journalist positions at major news organizations in the U.S. and Europe.

Measurement and metrics-oriented, Jay is a keen proponent of demand generation and lead nurturing using marketing and sales automation technology to maximize the return on digital assets.

Jay sits on the Advisory Boards for Mindshare LA, The Nike Foundation, Innovate Pasadena, New Filmmakers LA and is also a judge for the Third Screen Film Festival. He is a popular speaker at top international media industry events such as the LA Film Festival, NAB, Game Developers Conference and Canadian Music Week.

He has been a contributing author to three books about digital media and is currently working on a book about how technology is changing the nature of education and work.

He has a Masters Degree in Media, Entertainment and Technology Management from the Gallatin School at New York University and a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from the School of Business and Commercial Law at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.

Testimonials

Gregory Hadden, Founder, Tube Media International

"I've hired Jay on several occasions because he possesses a wide-range of skills, is professional, timely, personable, delivers good results - and always brings a little extra to a project. Jay's energy and knowledge have been important contributing factors to the success of several IKEA projects we have hired him to drive and I look forward to working with Jay in the future."

Daniel Lövquist - Internet Entrepreneur, CEO PMG

"Joakim is a rare kind of marketing and biz dev wiz who can do it all – from defining a long-term strategy to breaking it down to day-to-day operations and tactics. He is really good at follow-through and deliver real tangible results. In our case, we hired him to help us break into the U.S. market specifically, but he ended up being involved in a lot of the overall monetization, marketing and communications work for the company. I have no doubt that Joakim will make a big positive difference for you and your business if you hire him."

Mattias Miksche, CEO and Co-Founder, Stardoll

"Jay is one of the sharpest minds in the digital entertainment industry. He has provided great insight, analysis and advice and has introduced us to many exciting companies & individuals. He also is a all-round terrific guy and I can recommend him whole-heartedly."

Dave Jaworski, CEO, Passalong Networks

"Even under tight deadlines, Jay remains the consummate professional and maintains his pleasant disposition. We have published two books together, done interviews together, and have participated in numerous trade events. On all occasions our team has found Jay to be great to work with and one who delivers a quality experience for his readers. We look forward to any project with Jay."

Contact

Have you upgraded to Marketing 2.0? Do you have enough compelling content to fill your lead generation programs and social media channels?

Let’s book a meeting!

We’re based in Los Angeles, but wherever you are, so are we. Thanks to the wonder of the cell phones, internet and airplanes.